Ahanmisi announces UAAP arrival with 28-point explosion in Adamson win

MANILA, Philippines — When Adamson rookie Jerrick Ahanmisi dazzled in a a preseason tournament in May, he said that are more to come.

Those words couldn’t be any more truer when Ahanmisi took the UAAP floor for the first time Sunday, helping make mincemeat of the University of the Philippines in the opening game of the league’s first round at the Smart Araneta Colisuem.

“I was a little bit nervous but I was also excited,” said the rookie, who fired for 28 points, 18 of which from the rainbow territory.

Ahanmisi, the brother of PBA hotshot rookie Maverick, was recruited by the Falcons earlier this year. The Filipino-Nigerian attended middle school in California where he normed 10 points a game.

“It was an exciting performance for me,” Ahanmisi continued. “Ever since I got here, I’ve been polishing my game.”Asked if he was only specifically working on his shooting, the young cager was quick to note that he was actually tinkering with every facet of his game.

And it showed on fine print. While Ahanmisi shot 91 percent from the perimeter and 6-of-7 from beyond the rainbow, he also hauled six rebounds to go with an assist and a steal.

Even his mentor, the decorated Franz Pumaren,  was all praises for his ward.

“I’m confident with my guys. Shooting has been there,” Pumaren said.“I think we’re lucky that we’re able to recruit him,” he added.

“We actually wanted his brother Maverick pero hindi na pala pwede, pang PBA na, ” Pumaren even joked.

But the downside, Pumaren stressed, is that other teams now know who Jerrick Ahanmisi is.

The Falcons face champion FEU Tamaraws next.